Synecdoche, New York

Synecdoche, New York, 2008. An unhappy theater director stages a replica of his life in a warehouse.

Written & directed by Charlie Kaufman. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, with Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, & Tom Noonan.

Concept: B
Story: A
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: I found myself checking the time more and more often as the movie goes on, but I wouldn't change anything. It's never boring, and in the end you feel like you've lived through these years. B
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: A
Enjoyment: Strange on a level that's strange relative to other Charlie Kaufman movies. Usually when a movie is described as having "dream logic," it's code for saying they do whatever arbitrary, surreal nonsense seemed like a good idea at the time. But with this movie, it actually does use dream logic. I don't always know what's literally going on, but still at any point I could pause it and explain what's happening, and why. A

GPA: 3.8/4

[update of a previous post - original is here]